Unlike most companies, which seek business veterans to run new
branches, H.Bloom is finding
recent graduates and molding them into managers. It spends
three to six months training them in a SEED program, where
they get one-on-one access to all of the company's executives,
marketing strategies and more. Trainees hang out with
H.Bloom's CEO on Saturdays and master technical, operational and
marketing skills Monday through Friday. Upon graduating from the
program, the mini managers are fully equipped to open H.Bloom in
a new market.

For young professionals who are not quite ready to start their
own ventures, it's a pretty great deal. They learn how to manage
a team and grow a business like it's their own, without the
financial risk. Not to mention they shoot up the corporate
ladder.

The SEED program is a smart talent investment strategy for
H.Bloom too — so long as it finds good people to train. Two
people who went through the SEED program didn't pan out, but the
others are running H.Bloom's New York, D.C. and San Francisco
divisions.

"We knew the SEED program could provide a really good revenue
opportunity, but it could also be a risk. If the person didn't
work out we'd have expended energy on a failure," Burkhart tells
Business Insider. "Through the program,
we have three to six months to assess whether the person will
work or not. But to be able to train people like Zach is a great
strategy."

Like any startup manager, Brown has aggressive goals. Next year
he's expected to double his team's revenue to at least $2 million
and achieve profitability for the Chicago market. So he's busy
building out his team, managing P&L, and pitching new
business.

With nearly 500 clients, H.Bloom is planning to launch its
subscription flower delivery service in 25 new cities soon. The
new cities will be led predominately by other graduates of its
SEED program.

"The SEED program was like Business 101 training, like a
classroom aspect of learning a business," Brown says. "It was an
awesome opportunity for me, and I was able to hone my skills as a
leader which has been really important to my professional
development."